


Diana takes a break

by VathySkotadi



Category: Little Witch Academia
Genre: Alternate Universe - Non-Magical, Diana is tired, F/F, Vacations, world cruise
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-22
Updated: 2020-06-27
Packaged: 2021-03-03 20:42:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 15,285
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24861748
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VathySkotadi/pseuds/VathySkotadi
Summary: Overwork? That's a thing?Diana, after almost passing out during an important meeting, is ordered to take a damn vacation. What will happen? Who will she meet?Well, if you've read the tags, you can probably figure it out!
Relationships: Diana Cavendish/Atsuko "Akko" Kagari
Comments: 75
Kudos: 179





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [araseses](https://archiveofourown.org/users/araseses/gifts).



Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Exhale.

Ringing.

Darkness.

The mumblings of the people around Diana were unintelligible. The world had gone dark. Only one thing seemed to remain, and she fixed on that. Her own breathing.

She blinked slowly, ignoring everything that surrounded her. Breathe in. Breathe out. Inhale. Exhale. If she did that, she could continue. A five minute break. That was all she needed. To ignore the talk about money, about salaries, about investors and sales and…

“Diana!” A shout suddenly brought her back to reality. The room, white walled, with a grey carpet and a long, wooden table where all of the different department bosses met to discuss what they would do for the month, felt like a cage. Diana blinked a couple times, looking at John, the leader of her sales department, who was looking at her with a frown. “You seem out of it, maybe we should move the meeting to tomorrow?”

“Ah, you sure would like that, now wouldn’t you!” Travis, the leader of her PR department, pointed at him accusatorily across the table. They started bickering again. Like they always did.

Diana should have been paying attention. She usually did. This was her company, this was her life’s work. Since she’d taken it over from her aunt, she’d worked her ass off to fix all the mistakes her predecessor had made. It was now one of the biggest companies in the UK developing and selling medical equipment. MediCavendish’s net was worth millions of dollars. Diana was successful, Diana was…

Tired.

She was just tired.

“John is right. I’m getting dizzy,” Diana stood. Everyone in the room stopped talking and looked at her with shock. She hesitated for a moment. Never before had she stepped out of a meeting, no matter the situation. She’d dealt with forty degree fevers and flu, she’d come in with broken bones and horrible cramps and she hadn’t, even _once,_ taken time off. These were arguably the most important meetings of the month.

But she just couldn’t care. It was surprising. There was just… nothing inside her.

“We’ll resume this tomorrow,” she said, exiting the room with as much poise as she could manage.

As soon as she stepped out she found herself face to face with Anna, who had been writing something on her clipboard. “Miss Diana, I was about to go in and-” Anna looked as shocked as the people inside the room had.

“Meeting’s cancelled. Let’s go back to my office,” she pointed towards her office, and Anna must have perceived Diana’s distress, for she simply nodded and followed.

Diana looked around the top floor of her building. Had it always been so plain? It was nothing but white walls, a dark carpet and some silly decorations here and there. Paintings that held no meaning hung on the walls, plastic plants took the corners. Every door had a little golden plaque to indicate whose office it was, and the only different one was Diana’s, being a black door instead of a white one. She had always considered all of this to be practical, maybe minimalistic and serviceable. Now she found it… lacking. Boring, uninspired, depressing.

What was going on?

Her office wasn’t that much different. She had a painting of her mother on a wall, and bookshelves filled with her favorite pieces of literature, but it was otherwise just plain and uninspired. How had she been working here for the past seven years?

“Miss Diana?” Anna asked from behind. She had set her clipboard aside, and she proceeded to put a hand on Diana’s shoulder in a soothing manner. The old woman was the CEO’s assistant, which meant she was Diana’s assistant. But she had been with the family since Diana could remember, and more than simply that, Diana saw her as the closest thing she had to a mother figure.

“Anna, am I doing things right?” Diana wasn’t sure what had brought this on. She’d been fine ten minutes ago.

“What do you mean, Miss?” Anna asked.

Diana shook her head. She wasn’t even sure. “I… I don’t know. Suddenly it felt like I was going to faint. I think I should call an ambulance.”

Anna hummed. “Sit down,” she said. Diana nodded, sitting in one of the extra chairs of her office. They were comfortable, but not particularly lush. “Tell me what happened.”

There wasn’t a lot to tell, but Diana explained how she’d suddenly had a strange episode while in the meeting. Anna listened carefully, nodding at her words. When Diana finished she realized just how strange that had been in truth.

“I think you’re stressed, miss.”

Diana blinked. “What?”

Anna moved, standing behind Diana, and started giving her a shoulder massage. “You work three hundred and sixty four days a year. And then, on Christmas, you only take half a day off. You have turned this company into what it is today, but you have also neglected yourself for a long, long time,” Diana could feel her shoulders loosening up as the speech carried on. It was painful, but the good kind of pain. “You’re an admirable worker, but… Everyone has a breaking point.”

“Please,” Diana shook her head. “I can’t be that, I’ve never had this problem before.”

Anna applied some more pressure, forcing Diana to shut up. “And I’m surprised at that, honestly. You’re one stubborn woman, young lady.”

Diana sighed. “I should just call a doctor, see what they say.”

“I’ll get to that, but for now, take a few minutes and relax.”

Diana nodded. She could do that.

“It’s stress,” the doctor said.

Diana blinked. Behind the man, Anna nodded with a knowing smile. “But why now? After so many years?”

The man wearing a white robe—though Diana wasn’t sure of why, since he wasn’t in the hospital—had been doing some tests on Diana, and then he asked a bunch of questions. “I must say I’m impressed. You have one resilient body and mentality,” he explained. “But everyone has a breaking point. It’s good that you called as soon as you had one of these incidents. It’s not unusual for people to shrug them off, and then they can escalate.”

Diana was trying to take it in. So she was overstressed. “I think I know the answer, but… how do I fix this?”

“From what you’ve told me, I think the solution is simple: You need vacations. And I mean, _real_ vacations. Take at least sixty days, though I’d suggest you take three to four months. Grab your most trusty employee and put them in charge, throw your phone into the trash and go to the beach or the mountain or whatever you’d prefer to disconnect from everything and everyone. Take friends with you if they can, and if not, buy a _new_ phone and use that to _exclusively_ communicate with people outside of your work circles.”

While she knew that was going to be the solution, Diana still had to shake her head at this. “I can’t do that,” she said.

“Miss Diana,” Anna spoke behind the doctor. “I think you should do it.”

“Thanks, Anna, but-”

Anna pushed the doctor aside, stepping in front of Diana and putting a hand on her shoulder. “Diana,” she said her name alone, and Diana knew she was about to get serious. Her dark blue eyes focused on hers, and Diana was suddenly aware of how much older than her this woman was. Of the decades of experience she had over her. “Please don’t make the mistake the doctor just told you not to make. Don’t shrug this off. I promise your company won’t be run into the ground if you take a vacation. Don’t… Don’t suffer the same fate your mother did.”

What hit Diana the most wasn’t the mention of her mother, which Anna rarely did, but the sadness in her voice. Diana could tell this wasn’t about Anna just being her normal caring self. She was actually worried. “I…” She didn’t know how to answer to such an earnest look. Or maybe she did know. She was somewhat afraid, but… “I guess I’ll start looking for travel agencies to help me plan something out, huh?”

Anna smiled. “And I’ll look into who should step into the role of temporary CEO while you do that.”

Diana nodded and gulped.

Her life was about to take an unexpected turn, and she wasn’t sure she was a big fan of that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey remember when I said I was gonna update my other fanfic every monday.  
> Haha, me neither.  
> In any case, thansk to Araseses for commissioning this! It was certainly an interesting idea, and I hope you enjoy reading about it!


	2. Chapter 2

Diana looked up at the cruiser and pretended not to be daunted by the fact that she was about to spend ninety days away from everything. She had considered just staying home, but then she realized the Cavendish Manor was just another workspace for her. If she was gonna do this, she needed to do it right.

She was going out on a three-month trip around the world, since in the end she couldn’t decide where to go. She had taken Anna’s advice and had just taken a ‘presidential suite’ and a VIP package and she was basically wasting money like crazy.

But maybe, after an entire life never allowing herself to truly have anything, a little bit of wasting was something she needed.

“Well, Miss, your luggage has already been taken to your rooms,” Anna said as she stepped next to Diana.

Diana turned. Even amidst the sea of people who were boarding the cruiser, Anna had been able to spot her among the crowd without a problem. Diana looked at her assistant, tutor and friend with fondness and smiled. “Thank you for all you do for me, Anna,” she said. “I wouldn’t be where I am today without your help.”

Anna smiled. “No need to thank me,” even as she said that, her eyes got a little teary. “Relax for a while, have some fun, enjoy your trip.”

“I’ll try,” Diana said. She stood there awkwardly for a moment, but thankfully for her, Anna took the initiative and leaned forward to hug her.

Diana gladly gave the hug back. “And remember,” Anna said, “if I catch you even _chatting_ with anyone in the company I _will_ fire them for indulging you, so if you don’t do it for yourself at least do it for them.”

Diana sighed. “I know, I know.”

“Stick to calling _only_ your friends.”

“Yes, I will.”

“And stay safe, Miss.”

Diana paused for a moment. “I will.”

They stayed like that for a few seconds more, but Anna eventually pushed Diana and pointed to the ship. “Now go. It’ll leave in a couple hours, but I think it’ll be best if you explore a little before it takes off, in case you get seasick.”

Diana nodded. “I’ll call you and-”

“No you won’t. I am a part of the company and if you call me or send me a message I _will_ quit, am I clear?” Anna said in a serious voice. Diana could tell she wasn’t bluffing.

“I won’t then,” Diana said. The disappointment must have been obvious in her voice, for Anna smiled again.

“ _I_ will contact you once in a while, though. It will be when I’m off the clock and you better not dare ask me anything about the company, got it?”

Maybe it was childish, but Diana was relieved to hear that. “Sure,” she nodded.

“Now go,” Anna pointed at the cruiser. It was called the ‘Luna Nova’, a ship that would take her around the world in ninety days. Diana didn’t even remember the details of the trip, really. She didn’t have a particular interest in going anywhere.

She waved to Anna one last time before taking a deep break and marching towards the scales that would carry her to the first deck.

Her room was basically an apartment.

It was on the top deck of the ship, of course, but that was besides the point. It had two rooms, for some reason, one with a king-sized bed and one with a normal one. It had a huge bathroom that included a Jacuzzi, it had a dining room and a living room, and it even had a balcony. The entire floor was made of planks of wood, and all the furniture was plush and fancy and it made her feel like a rich girl. To be fair, she _was_ a rich girl, but she’d never been so… Ostentatious with her riches.

It felt only a bit rewarding, though, knowing that she had all of this for herself for the next three months.

For now, though, she’d completely ignore what Anna had suggested she do—go explore the ship—and instead she’d sit down to enjoy one of the books she’d brought.

When the ship began moving, Diana stepped over to the balcony. She saw a bunch of people on the lower decks waving towards the harbor, and she tried to see if she could spot Anna from her place. She couldn’t, obviously. There was a sea of people down there and Anna would probably be long gone by now. Even then, Diana raised her hand and did a little wave. Maybe Anna would still be down there and she’d see her.

The ship sounded its massive horns and off they were, watching the harbor slowly disappear as they moved towards their next destination.

Now Diana was alone.

It wasn’t something she’d actually wanted, of course, but she couldn’t bring any of her maids or co-workers without being reminded of work. She’d asked her best friends if they were up for the idea, but both Hannah and Barbara had their own jobs and lives to deal with, and letting that go for three months just wasn’t an option for them.

Anna had said this was a great chance to make some new friendships. She seemed to forget Diana had never been exactly on a proactive role in terms of social interactions. She’d done what she needed to move forward with her life, but ‘close’ relationships? Her only two were Hannah and Barbara, who she met in the one year she allowed herself to go to college before she had to take over the company from her aunt.

Ok, enough worrying. She was in a fun trip and she had ninety days of relaxation and… stuff ahead of her. She could swim! And go to the spa! And… Uhm.. eat stuff. And work out? And… drink copious amounts of alcohol for free?

Diana sighed. Who was she kidding? She had no idea of how to relax. She usually just sat and read, but it would be lame to have paid for such an expensive trip only to spend it all cooped up in her room reading books she’d already read anyways.

Maybe she’d just take Anna’s advice and begin by exploring the ship. She’d check the pools, the spa, the gym and whatever else there was to do and she’d figure things out from there.

Diana had to give it to them, the ship was impressive. As she walked around the hallways, she was surprised at how… hotel-ish it all felt. Her mental image of these ships had always been that they’d have nice rooms but the hallways would be narrow, cold and empty, but they were… normal. Or, well, high-class normal. Red carpets, decorated walls, a lot of warm lights that gave a nice atmosphere to it all… Basically, a floating hotel.

She was coming back from visiting the gym, which was only one floor below her room. It was massive. And she’d probably never set foot in it again, because she wasn’t one to ever work out. She was looking for a set of stairs down, a little annoyed by the lack of signs to guide her around, but also distracted by the wonderful paintings on the wall.

And then she bumped into someone.

“Oh, excuse me,” she said instantly, knowing it was her fault for not looking forward.

“Sorry,” the other woman said at the same time. Diana instantly recognized the uniform from the sailors of the ship, a purple attire reminiscent of a military uniform but with lots of golden details and a red belt and sash.

Only after noticing the uniform did she look the woman in the face. She was a little shocked by the couple of wide rubies that looked at her with curiosity. “You’re that really rich woman that got the most expensive room in the ship, aren’t you?”

Diana blinked. “Uhm… Yes, I am,” she cocked her head. She would have normally considered such a random question from a stranger rude, but she didn’t fill any kind of ill intent behind it from this woman. “My name is Diana Cavendish.”

The woman, with long, straight brunette hair that fell to her lower back, snapped her fingers. “Ah, that was it! I had it on the tip of my tongue,” she said. Then she smiled. “I’m Atsuko Kagari, but you can call me Akko,” she offered Diana a hand.

Diana hesitated for a moment before shaking it. “I can’t help but notice you have a uniform of the ship’s crew,” she pointed out.

Akko paused, as if she’d forgotten that fact. “Oh, right. Yeah. I’m a janitor. Sometimes a kitchen assistant. Also sometimes a waitress,” she shrugged. “I’m a new recruit.”

Diana nodded, not really sure of how to continue this random and out of nowhere conversation. “I apologize for bumping into you earlier,” Diana said. “I must have gotten in the way of something.”

“Oh, no prob- No wait that’s right, someone puked in the hallway not far from here,” Akko suddenly perked up and started walking away. “Pleasure to meet you Diana! No, wait, they told me to be respectful. Pleasure to meet you Miss!” was the last thing she said before disappearing around a corner.

There, in the middle of the corridor, Diana shook her head. She didn’t like being judgmental, but she couldn’t help wondering if that was _really_ the best this ship could’ve done in terms of hiring employees. That person didn’t seem like a bad one, but she certainly seemed to get easily distracted.

Well, maybe she’d gotten in thanks to nepotism or something. As long as she got her job done, it probably wasn’t too bad…

There were a number of different places to eat in the ship. There was a general, ‘family’ cafeteria that looked like one massive fancy restaurant. There was a relatively small bar for adults only. There was a place dedicated entirely to deserts and ice-cream, and then there was the little VIP place Diana was in.

Well, ‘little’ in comparison to the other places. This place, having two floors, had three tables in this level and probably a few more on the upper one. Yellow walls and a crimson carpet were contrasted with dark brown or black furniture. There was a small display cabinet where apparently anyone allowed to enter the room could simply grab whatever drink they wanted, and a waiter walked to meet Diana the second she stepped in to ask her what she would like.

The place was empty as of right now, which wasn’t surprising, given how Diana had only found it by luck while wandering through the ship. It wasn’t in a particularly fancy location. It felt more like a hidden lair, a place to retreat and be away from prying eyes. There was even a fake chimney that Diana suspected worked with natural gas.

She sat in front of it, even though it was turned off, and waited for the waitress to bring her lemonade. The sofa she’d chosen was soft and she really sunk into it, but the room’s temperature was temperate and she didn’t get hot due to the fabric. The place was surprisingly silent, too. Back in the hallways Diana could hear other passengers coming and going, but all she could hear right now were his own heartbeats and the occasional clink or footstep coming from what she’d assume to be a small kitchen dedicated fully to the VIP room.

On top of the fake chimney, she noticed, was a small screen. Turned off, currently. How long had it been since she’d actually watched something on TV? Maybe she should ask the waitress for a remote. Sitting and watching TV was something people did to unwind, right? Though nowadays it seemed streaming services like Netflix were far more common.

When the waitress came with her drink, Diana asked for the remote. The woman nodded and brought it to Diana, and even told her that if she had a Netflix account she could log in to watch stuff.

Diana didn’t have an account.

Instead, she simply changed channels and tried to find something interesting. She was tempted to look at the news, but she was self aware enough to not do that. Cartoons weren’t her thing, but maybe one of these reality shows… No, no. Oh, a documentary on penguins. She always liked to see documentaries.

She settled, quietly sipping on a drink that was fairly bigger than she’d expected to get, as she watched the documentary explain how the lives of penguins was affected by global warming. It wasn’t anything she hadn’t heard before, but it was interesting enough to keep her at least somewhat engaged for a while. Truth be told, Diana wasn’t sure she was doing it right. She wasn’t thinking about work, and she was sitting down while drinking… was this ‘relaxing’? How was this any different than when she sat down to read after a day of work? If that wasn’t enough to keep her sane, then how was this any different?

The documental ended, so Diana took that as her cue to leave. She stood, walked to the exit and said goodbye to the bouncer keeping guard on the entrance.

One thing that Diana found a bit surprising was the amount of old people in the ship. She’d always imagined there’d be a few, obviously, but she was starting to see that at least half the passengers were above fifty years old. Maybe it made sense. They already had lives and could probably take much more time off. They had already worked for many years, so allowing themselves a relaxing vacation…

She shook her head. She was examining the Pool Deck, which as far as she understood would normally be the top deck of the ship, but in the Luna Nova that was a bit hard, as the higher decks didn’t have space for pools this big. The pools ran around the central structure of the decks, some straight, some with curves. None were too deep, probably due to structural concerns, and all were overcrowded. Diana had seen there were adult-only pools, but she hadn’t seen a massive amount of kids around anyways. There were a ton of lounge chairs, normal chairs and tables going around. Closer to the entrances and exits to the inside of the ship there were showers, and closer to the biggest pool there was a place to eat grilled stuff. Diana may try that later, but she had decided she would _not_ be using the pools. The idea of sharing water with so many people didn’t sound particularly hygienic, and she sure as hell wasn’t going to step close to the kids’ pool.

The people around her seemed to be having more fun than her. Old ones, young ones, they enjoyed what surrounded them. Many ate, many swam, they laughed and chatted and… Most of them had company. It was a harsh reminder, wasn’t it? She started to see what Hannah and Barbara meant when they insisted that she should get a partner.

Diana had never given any meaningful thought to romance. Since her mother died at a young age and she saw what her aunt did to the family company, Diana had put all her effort and daily thoughts towards fixing MediCavendish. She had never regretted it, had never second guessed her choices. She knew people often pitied her, said she’d been forced to grow up too fast and that she’d lost her childhood. But she’d always taken pride in knowing she was successful thanks to that effort, that she could quit right now and she’d still have enough money to live for the rest of her life comfortably.

She’d always seen other people as a secondary thing. Hannah and Barbara were her only friends because they’d basically forced her to interact with them. It was easy for them to tell Diana to get a partner. They had met as kids and had basically grown together, anyone could get together with that kind of history. Diana didn’t have anyone like that. The closest thing to a childhood friend she had was Andrew Hanbridge, and she’d rather throw herself overboard than have anything with _him._

Great. Now she was alone and depressed in the middle of the ocean, reconsidering her life choices due to a lack of meaningful relationships in her life. And it was only the first day!

Turning back and walking back, she decided she was just getting a little melancholic due to having said goodbye to Anna and just being tired from the preparations. She’d go to sleep.

Tomorrow would be a better day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah, yes, more of this! Hope y'all enjoy it. Writing adult Diana is always a bit of a challenge, but one I find enjoyable since she is my favourite character in the show.  
> Thanks Araseses!


	3. Chapter 3

The week didn’t get better. At all.

Diana tried a bit of everything. Working out. Bingo at nights. Trivia contests. She ate more than she should’ve. She even swam in the pools and tried the Jacuzzis.

She was still miserable. It wasn’t just the loneliness but also a complete lack of focus. Sure, it was nice not having to worry… but she still _did._ She was so tempted to just call someone in secret to get them to tell her something about what was going on with her company. She was willing to even call _Daryl_ for it. Daryl!

But today would be different. It had to. They’d stopped for a while on the Canary Islands. She’d go to the beach and have some fun! Somehow.

She was looking from her balcony down to the port and the beach, which of course was filled to the brim with people. Yes, she’d go down there and… swim in the ocean? Oh, who was she kidding, she didn’t want to go down there. Sighing, she stepped away from the railing and went back inside her suite, looking at the books she’d been reading. Each time she picked them up guilt washed over her, telling her she should be enjoying this some other way.

Her eyes were drawn away from that and to the rest of this living-room-like space. Couches, the table, she even had her own kitchen, though she hadn’t used it because she lacked ingredients. She suspected there should be a way to get ingredients inside the ship, but maybe she should go out there and bring some? What were the rules for bringing food into the ship?

Did she even want to cook? She knew how to, of course. Many times she’d had to stay at her apartment near the office where her maids couldn’t cook for her. Even then, she wouldn’t consider her own food outstanding. Maybe that was a good thing, though. Finding a new hobby could help her, and if it was something useful like cooking… Yes, yes, she could do that.

With this new determination, Diana stepped out of her room. She’d ask someone from the crew to accompany her and help her bring ingredients. She’d buy a recipe book too! There was the option to just ask some crewmember to go buy things for her, but that would be no fun. And now that she thought about it, she could’ve sworn she’d read somewhere that there were going to be some cooking classes…

Diana wasn’t sure who to ask for help, so she simply asked a couple of crew members and they both led her to what looked like a staff room. She knocked on it, wondering if she was abusing the power of money. Then again, she’d paid a fortune. Surely with her money alone they were paying the salaries of at least a couple people on board.

“Come in,” a voice said from inside.

Diana opened the door slowly. Inside there were a couple of crew members with standard uniforms, but one of them had a darker, maybe bulkier one with some kind of distinctive on the shoulders. The woman, who looked older than Diana by at least a decade, had bright red hair and looked a bit surprised when Diana stepped in. “Ah, you’re Miss Cavendish, aren’t you?” She said in an amiable voice.

Diana tried her best smile. “Seems like I’m a bit of a celebrity.”

“We were all shown your face and told to treat you with utmost respect,” one of the common employees said. Only then Diana noticed it was the same one she’d met on that first day a week ago. Akko, was it? Diana had forgotten her full name.

“Oh,” she didn’t exactly know what to do with that information. “Please don’t be too nervous, though.”

The red-haired woman stood and walked over to Diana. “We’re a week late, but welcome to the Luna Nova, Miss Cavendish,” she offered Diana a hand. “My name’s Chariot Du Nord, manager of… ‘janitors’ on the ship.”

“Ah, thank you,” Diana took it and shook, only briefly wondering what was with the weird intonation. “But please just call me Diana.”

“What brings you to our staff room, Diana?” Chariot asked. “You know you can always call for room service, should you need something.”

Diana nodded, looking around the staff room. In comparison to the rest of the ship, it was incredibly plain. All metallic colors and plain walls, it had a couple of lockers, a coffee maker, a little electric stove and a table. “Well, that’s kind of what I needed to talk about. I plan on going down to buy ingredients and stuff, and I think I’d like an assistant,” while normally confident, Diana was a little uncomfortable asking for this. She felt like she was abusing her power.

“Oh, oh, I’ll go, I’ll go!” Akko instantly offered herself, raising her hand.

Chariot sighed. “Please excuse her. She’s been looking to go down all day,” she explained, turning to give the brunette a harsh look. Akko sat back down with a sorry expression, looking towards Diana with a sad-puppy look so full of disappointment that Diana felt like she’d been stabbed. “Now, going back to your issue, there’s no problem in sending someone to help you! We have people assigned to these tasks. We normally have them go buy stuff _instead_ of our passengers, but I don’t think it’ll be different if we send them to help you instead.”

“That’d be wonderful,” Diana nodded. “I’ll…” she trailed off, noticing the pleading look on the brunette intensify. “I’ll…” Come on, she wasn’t a child anymore, what was up with that? She should learn to do as she was told, it was her job! “Just wait…”

“I’ll go look for Sarah, she’s been in the crew for a couple years and has done this before, just give me fifteen minutes and-”

“You know what?” Diana broke. God damn that woman and her puppy eyes. “I don’t really want to wait that long,” she put on a bit of a stuck-up voice, pretending to be a bit more of what people _expected_ her to be than what she actually was. “I don’t mind if the brunette there accompanies me. I just need someone to help me carry stuff, not a guide.”

Chariot blinked, obviously taken aback by the change of attitude. “Oh, uhm… ok? Are you sure? She’s a new employee. Not that we would hire someone incompetent, but she’s inexperienced.”

Diana hesitated for a moment, but upon seeing the hopeful smile plastered on Akko’s face she knew going back on it now was impossible. “It won’t be a problem,” she nodded.

Chariot nodded slowly, turning to Akko. “Akko, please stay out of trouble, will you?”

Akko stood, her smile almost blinding, and spoke with the joy of a kid being gifted a new toy. “No problem, boss!”

“Thanks again for taking me with you,” Akko said as they walked down the harbor. Diana was a bit distracted with the city, with its colorful buildings. She’d seen it from the ship obviously, but from up close it was truly a sight to behold. To her right, the beautiful beach extended across the side of the island, full of people, but Diana was barely interested in that. The sky was clear, a perfect blue, and the sun shone down with so much force that Diana had chosen to wear a wide brimmed hat to cover her face. Akko didn’t seem too annoyed by the sun, despite her being nearly as pale as Diana.

“I saw how… eager you were to come,” Diana said after a while. “And as I said, I don’t really need a guide, I just want to find a local store and buy ingredients.”

“You like cooking?” Akko asked.

Diana was a bit surprised at how nonchalant Akko was being. People usually acted intimidated around Diana, but this brunette girl seemed to not find her particularly menacing. “Not exactly, but I want to pick up a new hobby,” Diana explained. She turned away from the harbor and started walking through a street that led away from the beach. She knew there’d be stores close to the beach, of course. She also knew they’d be filled with the passengers of the ship and she’d rather waste time exploring the colorful city than waiting in line.

“Oh, that’s cool,” Akko nodded. Then she paused. “If you wanna eat nice, I have a pamphlet pointing to the many five-stars restaurants around here!”

With the eagerness in her voice, you’d think she’d be the one eating. “Thanks, but not really interested. I go to enough five-star restaurants when in important meetings,” Diana explained.

Next to her, Akko stopped. “Wow. Are they nice?”

Diana turned, cocking her head. “They’re… fine, I guess?” Only then she realized the Japanese woman had probably never been to one. “There are some that are better than others. They have good food, but I don’t particularly remember a meal at one of them being the best one I’ve ever had.”

Akko nodded. She’d tied her long hair in a ponytail that wobbled as she did so. “What is the best meal you’ve ever had, then?” she asked as they began moving again.

Diana was taken aback by the question. She had to actually think about it. She had had a number of good meals, but to pick one was hard. She could think of those she’d had as a child with her mother, or with Hannah and Barbara. Anna cooked like a goddess, too.

Akko didn’t push her to answer, instead being as amazed by the city as Diana—or even more, due to her dropped jaw as they walked.

Then, it hit Diana. “I guess the best meal I’ve ever had was in college. I was having a dry steak and some badly mashed potatoes from the cafeteria,” she started.

“That sounds… not so good,” Akko said in a confused tone.

Diana nodded. “It wasn’t. But then these two random girls came to sit with me at the table and offered me some of their homemade food. Neither of them were great cooks, but…” Diana recalled the moment with a smile. “They had heard I was a prodigy and wanted to bribe me with food to help them,” she chuckled. “It may not have been the tastiest one, but… It was the moment I met my two best friends.”

Akko hummed approvingly. “That would have worked on me. Assuming someone ever wanted my help…” She sounded defeated.

“Didn’t do great at school?” Diana asked.

“Let’s say I got by with passing grades and that’s about it,” Akko explained. Diana didn’t want to be rude, so she didn’t say it, but she wasn’t surprised.

After a while of walking through the colorful streets, Diana found a store that seemed to fit her bill. She entered, and the first thing she did was walk over to the book section near the entrance to grab a recipe book. Only to realize it was in Spanish. “Oh…” she said, feeling stupid.

“You don’t speak Spanish?” Akko asked.

Diana shook her head. “I should have figured. The shops closer to the beach probably have things in English. Should’ve gone there in the first place.”

“Why not buy it online?” Akko suggested.

Diana pressed her lips. “I don’t… like e-books and such,” she explained. Akko raised an eyebrow. “It’s not that I shy away from technology or anything, ok? It’s just, nothing beats the feeling of a book in your hands.”

Akko smiled. “So you’re one of _those._ ”

It was instantly obvious what she meant. “Yes, I am…” Diana had to admit.

Akko leaned over Diana’s shoulder. “If you want, I can help you read that.”

“You know Spanish?” Diana asked with genuine surprise.

“Yeah! I think my knowledge of languages was what landed me this job in the first place…” she chuckled, scratching the back of her head. “But it’s like, my only good trait.”

Diana shook her head. “Don’t say that, that’s impressive. How many languages do you know?”

“Well, besides English and Japanese, I know Spanish, Portuguese and Italian— though they sometimes get mixed up in my head. They can be similar in some things. I know some French, too!”

“Wow,” was all Diana could say. “That’s amazing, Akko.”

Akko got a bit red with the praise, which Diana found somewhat cute.

“Still,” she looked down at the recipe book. “These things look delicious. Can you help me figure out ingredients and buy them?”

The brunette nodded eagerly. “That’s what I’m here for, isn’t it?” She asked as a smile grew on her face.

Diana nodded. She’d be sure to tell Chariot that Akko had been a great assistant later. Maybe that’d help her get a raise.

“And here we are,” Akko said as they reached the door to Diana’s suite.

“Thanks a lot for your help, Akko,” Diana nodded gratefully.

“Oh don’t be silly, it’s my job. I thought you’d be a lot more stuck-up, but you’re actually nice, so it wasn’t a problem.”

Diana couldn’t help sigh at the statement. It was a usual thing. “Thanks anyways. I’ll be sure to ask for your help when I get to cooking.”

Akko smiled, but her smile suddenly disappeared. “I, uhm… I can help you with translating the book. Don’t expect me to touch a knife or I can and will probably end up cutting myself, or you, or both of us.”

Diana raised an eyebrow. “Clumsy, aren’t we?”

Akko nodded. “I’ve tried a couple times, but I’m too impatient,” Akko explained, shrugging.

“Well, maybe we can work on that,” Diana offered.

Akko looked up. “Really?”

“Sure.”

“That sounds great! Thanks! I can’t wait for—” Akko paused, like she’d recalled something. “Ah, shoot. I forgot I promised my parents I was going to bring them a souvenir from everywhere I visited,” she pressed her lips, giving that puppy-eyed look to Diana again. “Hey, I know it may be too much to ask since we only got to know each other, but would you mind telling Chariot we spend about an hour more than we actually did so that I can…”

She shouldn’t. Akko was an adult and as such she had responsibilities to attend to. She should have remembered to do it while they were down in the island.

But then again, she’d been so much help, and she was a really good and earnest person. “Fine,” Diana said. “But don’t slack off, got it?”

Akko beamed. “Thank you, Ma’am Cavendish!” She did a mocking military salute before turning around. “I’ll be back before you notice!”

And with that, the brunette ran away. Diana was left in the hallway, wondering if she had just made a mistake. Well, Akko seemed like a… Uhm… No, responsible wasn’t the word. Honest. Honest was more like it. She seemed like an honest person, so if she’d given her word, she’d probably follow through.

With that, Diana turned and entered her room. With a couple trips she brought in all the ingredients she and Akko had been carrying—more than double what Diana had. She was stronger than her by a mile—and set the book on top of her small kitchen counter. She checked the cabinets in the kitchen and indeed she had a collection of pots and other cooking utensils for her use.

She was actually kind of excited by the prospect of having some fun while cooking with Akko. Now, all she had to do was… Wait, what was that thing? An envelope had been pushed to the side by her opening of the door, and only now she saw it on the floor. Taking it, she examined its contents.

After she finished reading, she put the envelope aside. She’d been invited to have dinner with the captain of the ship in a week. That was no surprise; she figured something like this would end up happening eventually. She nodded to herself, putting the envelope away, and got to putting away the vegetables on the fridge.

Next morning—or rather, noon, since she’d been up late reading—she woke up to find another piece of paper on the floor near her door. This time, however, it wasn’t on an envelope, and it was just a page ripped of some notebook. She picked it up with curiosity.

_I realized we didn’t exchange contact info or anything yesterday. Here’s my number, call me or send me a whatsapp if you ~~want to see me~~ need help with cooking. Sorry for leaving the note like this, I didn’t know if you’d be in your room or if you’d be sleeping or whatever so I did this. Att: Atsuko Kagari._

Below that, her phone number. Diana smiled. She’d have to ask Akko her working schedule. If she was going to get her to help, she’d make sure it wasn’t during her free time. After all, assisting Diana _was_ technically part of her job, right? Diana wasn’t too sure, but she figured it had to. Actually, she could ask Chariot about it. And since she had nothing better to do, why not do that?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More more more! Yes that's right!   
> Geez, I wonder if these two characters may be building some kind of connection!   
> Thanks araseses!


	4. Chapter 4

Diana was a little anxious.

Chariot had told her that, indeed, she could request Akko to help her out. She’d even told her Akko’s schedule. But now she hesitated to call. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to, but she didn’t know what to say. Was Akko a friend? Or had she offered her help because Diana was who she was? Diana believed they’d had fun when buying ingredients, but what if that was just her views? As far as she knew, Akko could be plenty busy with other stuff. Who was she to take her away from that?

Then again, she had a bunch of ingredients that she didn’t want to go to waste. Yes, that rationalization worked. Diana took advantage of the momentary boost of confidence it gave her and pressed the call button.

_“’ello?”_ Akko’s voice came through, picking up almost immediately

“Ah. Uhm, good day, Akko,” Diana said in a stiff voice.

“Who is- Ah, Miss Cavendish! I mean, Diana!” She sounded excited. “I was thinking you weren’t gonna call and that I’d misread the whole thing.”

Well, it seemed the both of them had gone through a similar dilemma. “You didn’t, I really appreciate your help. So, should I ask your boss to allow you to come here after you finish whatever you’re doing right now?”

“Actually,” Akko said, “why don’t we do it like at seven or eight? They really need help here in the cafeteria today.”

Diana blinked. “But that’s after your shift, right?”

“Uhm, yeah. What about that?” Akko sounded genuinely confused.

“Well, you helping me is supposed to be a part of your job, remember?”

“Oooh, right! Don’t worry about it, I had fun yesterday, and it’s not like I’ve got anything else to do anyways!”

No words came to Diana for a moment, as her perception of what was going on shifted. So Akko really didn’t mind helping Diana out, then? “So you’d help me, as, like, a… friend?” Diana said that last word with so much doubt that she wondered if it had even managed to come out of her mouth.

“Yeah, why not? Anyways, I gotta go, is seven a good time for you?”

“Y-yes,” Diana said, a strange feeling growing inside at Akko’s absolute lack of doubt. “Thank you.”

“No problem! I’ll probably be late, though. I always am, so don’t worry about that. Anyways, bye!”

And with that, she hung up.

Diana stared at her phone. She’d made a new friend? She’d made a new friend! She smiled about that. Then she felt silly. She was twenty five years old, nearly twenty six. She shouldn’t be so happy about such a stupid thing.

But she was. Oh, she couldn’t wait.

Akko was indeed late.

It was seven forty by the time Diana heard a knock on the door. She opened it, giving the brunette on the other side a deadpan. It didn’t last long, though, because Akko looked really sorry and that strange childish aura around her made it impossible to stay too mad.

“Hey,” she said. “Hope you’re not too mad.”

“You did warn me, so it’s ok,” Diana stepped aside. “Please come in.”

Akko’s eyes lit up as soon as she stepped into the room. “Oh my god, this is so… fancy!” She looked around, examined the windows, the carpet, the ceiling, the different rooms. “I mean, I figured it’d be, but it’s like an apartment!”

“You haven’t been to rooms like these before?” Diana asked, a little uncomfortable. She always was when people praised her for things related to money. It always felt a bit like bootlicking. But Akko seemed to be different. As before, Diana just noticed _honesty_ coming from her. It was really strange.

“I’ve been to some other fancy rooms, but _man_ this one beats them all out of the park! I mean, it’s like… ten times bigger than my room! Maybe more!”

Diana chuckled nervously, but Akko’s face didn’t change, as she kept marveling on the stuff around her. To change topics, Diana took the recipe book, which was fairly heavy and set it on the small, white counter with a thump. “Ok, Akko, here’s what we’re gonna do: You’re gonna translate how the food is made. As we do it, I’ll explain to you how to do the things the book says. Maybe between the two of us we’ll manage to make a half decent meal.”

Akko finally stopped focusing on the room and nodded towards Diana.

She took the book and looked at the page Diana had opened. “Paella de Valencia,” Akko read. “Oh, that looks nice. We bought the ingredients for this one, didn’t we?”

“Yes, we did. And I hope it tastes nice too. Now, please read to me what I need to make it.”

Akko nodded. “Uhm… Chicken, Rabbit, Beans. The two kinds of beans we bought, I don’t know the translations. Tomato, peppers, and of course saffron and rice,” as Akko listed the ingredients, Diana quickly wrote them down on a piece of paper to not have her re-read that every time. “Huh. I was under the impression that Paella usually carried seafood.”

Diana nodded. “Depends. Paella is a dish that has as many regional variants as you can imagine, due to how effective it is in mixing all kinds of flavors together. I decided to go with this one because I feel like I’m going to grow sick of seafood while on this trip.”

“Oh, that makes sense! You’re like, really smart, aren’t you? I noticed while we were shopping, by how you speak and carry yourself and such.”

Diana paused. “Yeah. I don’t want to come off as self centered, but I take pride in my knowledge and studies,” her voice had turned cold, she noticed. How many people had judged her for being like she was? Admired her, respected her. But were also intimidated by her.

“Oooh, that’s really cool. College must’ve been a breeze for you,” Akko nodded.

“Well, it wasn’t too bad, for the one year I got to experience it.”

Akko blinked. “You’re a dropout?”

Diana cringed. “Please don’t say it like that. I had to do it, to save my family’s business,” she explained. Akko nodded, her expression turning curious, like she expected Diana to continue. “You wanna… hear about that?” She asked. Again, Akko nodded.

There was a moment of doubt from Diana. She barely knew Akko. Was she really gonna tell her such a personal story? Yet, the fact that they barely knew each other may be the reason it was so easy. “It’s ok if you don’t wanna tell me,” Akko said, leaning on the counter. “Sorry if it’s a touchy subject.”

“It’s ok,” Diana took a breath. “I’ll tell you, but first, let’s get started with this recipe.”

“Oh, right,” Akko looked down at the ingredients. “Let’s do that.”

“…and that’s how I ended up in a world cruise, feeling lonely and miserable,” Diana finished her story. “And why I invited a cabin girl to help me out with cooking.” She paused. “No offense.”

“No problem,” Akko nodded. She’d been listening rather attentively, which seemed to be unusual for her.

“Ah, mix it a little,” Diana told Akko, who was taking care of the food. It would be ready soon.

The brunette stayed silent for a while, which gave Diana time to think. As she set a couple plates on the counter and took a bottle of wine from the room’s mini fridge, she wondered if Akko was going to take her story badly. She’d been a good helper, even if the way she’d cut the vegetables had been uneven, and she hadn’t cut herself which was a relief. She was actually good at following instructions. Diana was certain she’d be a decent cook in no time.

“You’ve had a harsh life, huh?” Akko said. A small chime told her that the food was ready, so she turned off the stove and looked at Diana. “I believed you must have had it easy, being rich and all, but I wouldn’t change my life with yours for all the money in the world.”

“Please don’t pity me,” Diana said, moving towards the food and preparing to serve it.

“No, no, I don’t mean it that way,” Akko sat in the opposite side of the counter to let Diana move around comfortably. “I just think you’re really strong, to be where you are despite everything.”

Diana served silently. The yellow-tinted, steaming rice with bits of everything else mixed in it smelled great, and as soon as she sat down and popped open the wine, she served herself and Akko a cup and ate a spoonful of rice. The taste of the saffron was instantly recognizable, but one by one the other ingredients started to make their way into her tongue as well. She wasn’t a chef, so she wouldn’t be able to pick each one individually if she hadn’t used them herself, but… yeah, it was delicious.

Akko seemed to think the same, for she hummed.

“Thank you,” Diana said.

“For helping? I only cut stuff, I didn’t do anything.”

Shaking her head, Diana took her glass and sipped a bit of wine. “For listening. I haven’t told a lot of people about this. You’re a far better listener than you appear.”

“Oh, well,” Akko chuckled nervously. “You were so serious and all, I didn’t want to make you feel bad,” she absently reached for her glass and sipped.

And had a comical reaction. She almost spit it, her face bulging with surprise at the wine, but after a second she managed to swallow it. Her expression denoted she hadn’t enjoyed it one bit. Amused, Diana offered Akko a napkin. “I take it you don’t like wine?”

“Sorry, I didn’t want to tell you,” she looked down, as if ashamed.

“Why not? There’s nothing to be embarrassed about. Not liking alcohol is not that weird,” Diana reached under the counter and took a can of soda. “Would you rather have a coke?”

“Yes please,” Akko nodded, opening the can and taking a sip. “Thank you, I’ll pay you back for it later.”

Diana deadpanned her. “Akko, please, I invited you.”

“I didn’t mean with money! I’ll try twice as hard next time we cook something! No, forget that. Thrice!” Akko declared, proceeding to stuff her mouth with Paella. A smile tugged at Diana’s lips as she continued eating too. “And,” Akko continued after swallowing. “I’ll attend some of the cooking classes in the ship to make sure I do things right.”

“Please don’t, I already took off enough of your free time. You should go have some fun.”

“But this _is_ fun,” Akko replied without hesitating. “And now that I know more about you I’m glad you opened up to me. You’re a great person!”

The words felt a bit like a slap. Not in a bad way, but they caused a similar effect leaving Diana speechless for a moment. “I… see,” was all she could muster before picking up some more rice. “Then I’m sure our next meal will be delightful too.”

“Damn right!” Akko nodded.

Diana smiled, taking another sip of wine. She was already looking forward to whenever their next meal would be.

It was two days later that Diana got a video call from Hannah and Barbara.

“Hey Diana, having fun?” Hannah asked as soon as she picked up. She and Barbara were sitting on their couch, still wearing their work suits.

Diana waved. “Kinda. The first week was rough, but now that I’ve started cooking I’m finding my time more enjoyable.”

Her best friends blinked in unison. “Let me get this straight,” Barbara said. “You’re on a world cruiser where you can eat whatever you want at any moment and you’re _cooking your own food?_ ” She sounded horrified. “Girl, do you know what the definition of ‘relaxing’ is?”

Diana rolled her eyes. “I find it enjoyable, thank you very much.”

“You have got to be kidding me,” Hannah said. “At least tell me you go out at night and get drunk or something,” she pleaded.

“I sometimes go out at night and do trivia. Yesterday I attended a nocturnal cooking class,” she explained. She smiled a little remembering that Akko was also there. Their teacher was strict so they hadn’t gotten much talking time, but the muscled woman that had taught them was good at her job, so she didn’t complain.

“Argh, come ooon,” Barbara shook her head. “You have got to do something with your life! Did you at least go to the beach or to swim or something?”

“A couple days ago, when we were in the Canary Islands, I went down.”

“See, that’s bet—”

“To buy some ingredients,” Diana finished.

“We should have agreed to go with you,” Hannah said. “You don’t know how to have fun when you’re alone.”

Diana couldn’t help but smirk a bit at that. Of course, her best friends instantly noticed. “Wait, what’s the smirk for?” Barbara said through narrowed eyes.

“Who says I’m all alone?” Diana asked. She wasn’t often ambiguous, but she found some enjoyment in teasing her friends.

They exchanged a look. “It can’t be,” Hannah looked at her. “You’ve met someone?”

Diana nodded proudly.

“Oh my god, then I’m glad we didn’t go with you,” she said, smiling. “Tell us, come on.”

Maybe it was stupid, but Diana explained to them about Akko with surprising ease. As if she and Akko had been friends since ever. And while she was proud of her story, her friends seemed a bit disappointed. “Ah, you’re not dating then,” Barbara lamented.

A big short-circuit seemed to go on inside Diana’s brain. “Dating? Girls, please, I’ve only known her for like a week.”

“Yeah but you looked so happy talking about her,” Hannah said. “You haven’t had a partner in… ever, right?”

“No no, there was that crush she had in college…”

“No, that only lasted one day.”

“Yes. I ended up thinking too much about it and forgot to do my homework, so I decided it wasn’t worth it,” Diana explained. Both her friends deadpanned her. “What?”

“That probably doesn’t even count as a crush. Man, now I wish we _were_ there, so that we could meet this girl and figure out what’s going on,” Hannah insisted.

“I just made a friend, please don’t jump to conclusions. I barely know her,” Diana said. _She knows basically everything about me, though, and she seems to enjoy my company anyways._ She’d keep that detail to herself.

“Well, you’ll have to tell us more about her soon, got it?” Barbara demanded. “Now tell us more about the ship.”

Diana sighed. She’d just present Akko to them at some point to get them to shut up.

In the meantime, she told them all she could about the ship and her not so exciting adventures in it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yet another chapter! One has to wonder if this is actually a romance fic instead of some vacacional thing. But nah, that couldn't possibly be... could it?!
> 
> Thanks araseses!


	5. Chapter 5

Diana looked at her dress and wondered if it was good enough to go meet the captain of the ship.

It was a white summer dress, long. thin and nothing too fancy, but also nothing too standard. She hadn’t done any makeup, but she had put a simple ponytail on to at least pretend like she’d done something with her hair. Truth was, the prospect of spending too long changing wasn’t appealing. The most difficult decision she’d taken for her wardrobe was whether to wear sandals or platform sandals.

She’d gone for the ones without platform. She had no need to appear taller than she was, not today.

The walk to the captain’s room wasn’t that long. She also stayed on the top deck, though it was obvious from the outside hallway that her room wasn’t as spacious as Diana, only because of how narrow the hallway itself was. The door was also less fancy than Diana’s, but that had its own charm. Taking a deep breath, Diana knocked.

“Please come in—” the waitress opening the door paused, staring at Diana. It was Akko. “Diana? You’re the captain’s guest?”

“A-Akko? What are you doing here?” Diana flushed a little. She and Akko had interacted some more during the week, and Hannah’s and Barbara’s stupid comment had done a number on her.

“The captain needed someone to help her set things up, and she heard I’d been getting into cooking so one thing led to another and now I’m the waitress…” she smiled apologetically. “Oh, right, come in,” she stepped aside.

The captain’s suite was, indeed, not as fancy as Diana’s. It was still nice, with windows pointing ahead of the ship and fairly similar furniture, but it lacked the extra rooms of Diana’s and its little kitchen was even smaller than hers. A table had been set up, but no-one sat there yet.

“Please sit,” Akko pointed, and Diana did so.

They stayed in silence for a minute before Diana spoke. “Seems like we just keep bumping into each other, eh?” She pointed out.

“Seems like it,” Akko smiled. During the week they’d met not only in cooking classes, but also when Diana had actually dared go down to the pools, where Akko had been performing a lifeguard’s duty, or the next day when Diana had gone to the VIP zone again only to see that Akko had been assigned as one of the waitresses there.

“Your job varies wildly from day to day, huh?” Diana pointed out.

“It’s because Chariot’s underlings are kinda like jokers, you know? We do menial stuff and fill holes in the crew as needed,” Akko explained. “A bit of a special situation, but that’s what I love about it. Doing only one kind of job at a time would kill me.”

“But you also can’t do anything _too_ important, I suppose.”

Akko shrugged. “I’m fine not having those responsibilities.”

Diana was about to refute, but she didn’t. There was a fair point in that. Not having to worry about the most important stuff would have surely helped her not stress out so much. “I wish I could have that outlook in life,” she sighed.

“It’s never too late to change how you look at things,” an elderly voice suddenly came from behind, and Diana turned with surprise to see two people stepping out of one of the rooms. A short, old woman with a white uniform and Chariot, with her slightly darker than Akko’s one.

Diana stood, instantly recognizing the old woman was the captain. “Hello,” she said, offering her hand when the woman stepped closer.

“Miss Diana Cavendish,” the captain shook her hand with more energy than Diana would’ve expected from such an old woman. She looked like she was a hundred years old. “I couldn’t believe it when I heard you’d be on the Luna Nova.”

“Oh, you know about me?” Diana asked. She was a bit famous inside medical and technological circles, but the average person didn’t often know about her.

“Of course I do! I’m an old woman, you know. I’ve had my health issues and your tech has helped me a whole lot,” she smiled like a grandmother at her children and Diana suddenly felt like she’d overdone her wardrobe. “My name is Miranda Holbrooke, in any case, but you can call me Captain. That’s what most people call me nowadays.”

“Will do, Captain. And hello to you too, Miss Chariot,” Diana said.

“Hello Diana. Bet you were surprised to see Akko here,” she smiled a knowing smile. Diana got the strange feeling she knew something Diana didn’t and that made her slightly uncomfortable.

“Somewhat,” Diana nodded. The three of them sat around the table, and only then Diana noticed the three sets of plates on the table. That surprised her a little. Well, Akko would be the server and such, so it made sense that she wouldn’t join them… But that didn’t sit completely well with her.

“Well, I’ll go fetch drinks and the entrance, be right back,” Akko tried to put on a comically fancy accent and walked off with her back absurdly straight, which Diana found stupid and charming on equal measure.

“You know Miss Kagari?” Holbrooke asked when Akko entered the kitchen.

“Yes. She’s been helping me cook and such,” Diana explained. “We’re… friends,” the word still made her a bit happy.

“I see,” Holbrooke nodded, the old, wrinkly eyes behind her glasses glinting with a strange amusement. “Then I guess we should ask her to join us, don’t you think?”

“Oh, I mean, I wasn’t…” Diana was about to dismiss the idea, arguing that Akko was in work hours and as such she couldn’t be given special treatment, but she paused. Why should she care? Akko wasn’t _her_ employee. If Holbrooke and Chariot were fine with it, why not? “I… would like that,” she admitted.

“Then it’s settled,” Holbrooke nodded. She looked at Chariot. “You got yourself one interesting student, huh?”

“She’s… quite something,” Chariot didn’t look too certain. “But at least she tries hard.”

Holbrooke stood. Diana looked attentive, fearing the woman would suddenly fall. She looked so frail! But she walked with surprising ease towards the other room, whatever that was. “I’ll go tell Miss Kagari to prepare another set of silverware for herself,” she said.

Diana looked towards the small kitchen on the suite with a bit of confusion.

“The food wasn’t made here,” Chariot seemed to read Diana’s mind. “It was brought in carts form the kitchens. The Captain insisted on leaving them on her bedroom so that they wouldn’t bother during dinner.”

Diana blinked. “That’s…” She didn’t know what to say.

“Yes, I know,” Chariot chuckled.

This was certainly going to be an interesting meal.

“I see. I’m sorry for asking about your job when you’re on vacation to be specifically away from it,” Holbrooke said after asking Diana if her work wasn’t affected by the cruiser.

“No problem. I’ve been having an easier time not thinking about it since I started cooking,” she explained. “That’s also helped me have some more fun on the other aspects of the ship. I’ve gone to swim, I tried a Jacuzzi, I’ve gotten a couple of massages at the spa… And, of course, I’ve had fun cooking with Akko.”

“Thank you,” Akko nodded almost proudly. “I’ve had fun learning from you too. Now I can also help at the kitchens.”

“For that I thank you. The kitchens are the ones that often require _most_ help and having Akko ready to peel potatoes and cut onions without blooding everything up was really convenient,” Chariot said, nodding respectfully to Diana.

Diana smiled a little. “I’m sorry if this is too personal a question, but… how came Akko began working here? She doesn’t look like the kind you’d pick up for her skills.”

“Hey! What’s that supposed to mean?!” Akko narrowed her eyes.

Diana blinked, her soul leaving her body. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to offend you,” she said, feeling her heart drop at the idea of having made Akko mad. “I just…”

Akko’s face instantly changed. “Wow, hey, you didn’t have to take it seriously. I was just exaggerating a little,” she smiled. “I know you didn’t mean it in a bad way,” she softly patted Diana’s shoulder, and Diana felt her face growing hotter at both of her actions. Even if Akko hadn’t been offended, Diana had said something really insensitive.

“Uhm…” Chariot cleared her throat, distracting the both of them and drawing attention to herself. “I hired Akko because she wouldn’t stop pestering me to take her as an ‘apprentice’.”

Diana cocked her head, trying to not let the sudden awkwardness she felt after what she’d just done show. “How so?”

“When I was little,” Akko explained, “Chariot was on lifeguard duty here. My parents had bought a partial ticket for the cruise, just a couple weeks, but I had a lot of fun. One of those days I jumped into the pool…” she went a little red. “I was just a little kid, you know? I saw all the other kids having fun and thought ‘hey, that looks fun’.”

“That sounds fairly normal,” Diana said, not sure why Akko looked embarrassed.

“Yeah, only problem was… I didn’t know how to swim.”

“Oh,” Diana simply said. Holbrooke, opposite to her, chuckled.

“And, well, she saved me. My parents had gone to buy a burger and they figured I wasn’t stupid enough to drown myself. You should have seen the scolding Chariot gave them afterwards,” Akko smiled sadly. “So… Well, I realized I admired her and wanted to be like her. Eventually I reached the age to be able to work and I’ve been applying to this job every year since turning eighteen.”

“That’s… dedication,” Diana nodded in appreciation.

“I kept thinking she’d give up each year,” Chariot said. “But every time she came with higher qualifications. Experience as a lifeguard, a bellman in various hotels, as a maid, she even got a job as a janitor at some other cruise last year,” she explained. “Even if I knew she was only doing it for me, I couldn’t turn her away this time.”

“You didn’t want to take her?” Diana asked with some surprise.

Chariot smiled sadly. “I only saved a kid from drowning. I didn’t want Akko to make a choice only based on such a silly thing. But, well, she’s absurdly determined. Even then, I don’t deserve such admiration.”

“So you say, but you’re the best boss I’ve ever had,” Akko insisted.

Diana tried to smile. “You did something great,” she added. “I think Akko is in her right to admire you.”

“I did what anyone else would do,” Chariot shrugged.

“Yet no-one else did it until you saw me,” Akko said. Diana got a look at her, and how serious her face had become, at how intense her stare was as she looked at Chariot straight in the eyes. It was like she couldn’t breathe for a moment.

Then Holbrooke clapped and the moment broke. “Now now, enough sad and motivational stories for one dinner. Diana, dear, the reason I had invited you here was because I’d wanted to discuss a bit of a deal, but since you’re not in work hours, I guess that’ll have to wait until the cruiser is over, huh?”

Diana hesitated. “It could. Or I could give you my assistant’s number and she’ll put you in contact with whoever is in charge right now.”

Holbrooke considered this for a moment, but shook her head. “Nah, I can wait a couple more months. I ain’t kicking the bucket quite yet!” She laughed at her own joke. “Let’s forget all about work and enjoy a relaxing meal, then. Now tell me, how do you get your hair to look like that?”

A bit shocked at the sudden change of topic, Diana took a few seconds to process the question. “Oh, well, you see…”

The dinner ended with Diana feeling drained. It’d be a lie to say she didn’t enjoy it, but there’d been a lot of emotions flying there. When they exited the Captain’s room, Chariot said goodbye almost instantly, which left Diana and Akko alone. “Want me to walk you to your room?” Akko asked.

“Aren’t you on shift?”

“It ended fifteen minutes ago, actually,” Akko smiled.

Diana nodded. “Then I guess it’s ok.”

The walk to Diana’s room wasn’t long or complicated, but Diana enjoyed it nonetheless. However, there was something that still nagged at her. “You really admire Chariot, huh?”

“I hope someday someone looks at me like I look at her,” Akko said with a serious tone. “I know it must sound silly, but…”

“It’s not,” Diana was quick to reassure her. “It’s really not. I’m honestly impressed. Few people I know have that sort of determination.”

The brunette’s air relaxed, and she smiled. “Oh, you’re just saying that.”

Diana shook her head. They reached her door, which made her sadder than she was willing to admit. “I… I’m really sorry for what I said earlier, about your skills,” she said when they stopped in front of her door. “I really didn’t think about what I was saying and I…”

“Hey, hey,” Akko gently took her arm. “Why do you look so sad? I said it was ok, I know you didn’t mean it in a bad way, it’s not a big deal.”

Diana knew she was right. Diana’s comment hadn’t been that bad, and she had the feeling a lot of people joked about that with Akko, since she was easily distracted. But for some reason Diana didn’t want Akko to believe Diana thought of her as anything but a wonderful person.

“You’re probably tired, you should go to sleep,” Akko said.

“Y-yeah,” Diana nodded. “I… Thank you for accompanying me. Are you free tomorrow? We can cook something together.”

“I don’t think I’ll have much free time in the following days, but I should get some free time after we reach Cape Town,” Akko said.

“That’s in three days, isn’t it?”

“Two? Maybe, I don’t know the schedule, but the point is I’ll have a couple of busy days,” Akko sounded disappointed. “Point is, I don’t think I’ll be able to cook with you. I can still come visit if you want!”

Diana held back her own disappointment and shook her head. “Don’t worry too much. I’ll call you when we reach port, deal?”

“Deal! And even if I’m in work hours, I can accompany you down to buy some ingredients, eh?” She gave Diana an accomplice smile.

“Of course,” Diana gave back the smile.

“Then it’s settled!” Akko hesitated for a moment in front of Diana. “Guess I’ll be seeing you.”

“You sure will.” Why was Akko looking at her like that? And now that Diana realized, she hadn’t let go of her arm yet…

Suddenly, Akko leaned forward and kissed Diana’s cheek. “Bye Diana!” She said immediately after, letting go and basically running away, leaving Diana frozen in the middle of the fancy hallway.

She slowly brought a hand up to touch the spot Akko had kissed. That was a normal greeting and good-bye for friends. Right? Something Akko probably did with every close friend?

Maybe the fact that Diana wished it wasn’t was a bit more revelatory than it otherwise would have.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One more of these chapters!   
> This time, more coincidental shenanigans! Isn't it great being a writer capable of bending reality to make it so that two characters just keep 'casually' bumping into each other?
> 
> Thanks Araseses!


	6. Chapter 6

Cape Town, South Africa, was quite the sight. The mountains, the clean city, the stretches of green and the big white stadium that dominated the view. In the distance, the plateau, bigger than the mountains around it. And Diana got to see it from her VIP spot in the balcony.

Like last time, she didn’t really care that much for the location, though she was of course going to go down to visit it, particularly when they’d spend the night there. She paused for a moment to think about that. Was she a spoiled brat? She had enough money to not only go on a three-months world cruise on a week’s notice, but she was also going to visit all of these places many would never get to see and she just couldn’t find the energy to care.

Maybe it was the case, but even then, she kept staring at her phone from time to time instead of at the city.

She wanted to call Akko, like they’d spoken about, but they’d just arrived. It’d look desperate, wouldn’t it?

More and more, Diana was starting to realize how things ‘looked’ didn’t matter to her nearly as much as they once had. She was about to press the call button when her phone suddenly vibrated, and in the scare she almost dropped it off the balcony.

When she stopped fumbling around, she realized it was Hannah calling. “Hello?” Diana put the phone to her ear.

“Diana! How you doing?”

“Bored at the office?” Diana instantly knew why Hannah would call her at random like that.

“… yeah,” she admitted. “Slow day. But how about you? You were going to reach Cape Town today, weren’t you?”

“Already there,” Diana explained, sighing.

“I notice your voice a bit… weird,” Hannah said. “The city’s not up to your standards?”

“The city is wonderful and great and I couldn’t care less about it,” Diana confessed. “I want to… do something, but I don’t know if I should.”

Hannah paused for a moment. “Does that ‘something’ have to do with this girl you told us about? What was her name? Coco?”

“Akko,” Diana was quick to correct her. “And… Yes, it’s got to do with her. I don’t know if I should call her now or wait a while to not seem desperate.”

Hannah snorted. “Call her now! Who cares if you ‘seem desperate’? Take hold of what you like!” It sounded more like an order than an encouragement.

_Of what I like…_ “I don’t… Know if I like her, though,” Diana said, feeling somewhat self conscious. She’d purposefully avoided thinking about ‘liking’ Akko. It seemed like it’d make things so much more complicated. “I barely know her, you know?”

“You don’t have to know someone to like them, Diana. There’s people who fall in love with first impressions. Hell, I dated my fair share of ‘strangers’. From what you’ve told me, you already know _enough_ about this Akko to like her. She’s upbeat, kind, not very smart… seems like a good fit for you.”

“Hey, I didn’t say she wasn’t smart!” Diana defended her.

Hannah chuckled. “I could infer from the stories you told us. Point is: Call her and ask her out.”

“A-ask her out? I was just going to ask her to go buy some ingredients with me,” Diana explained.

“… Diana, that’s basically the same. Just call her, alright?”

“Fine,” Diana nodded to herself, though she sounded more certain than she felt. “But first tell me, how’s your-” She wasn’t able to finish, for Hannah hung up on her. Diana looked at her phone’s screen feeling betrayed, but then she read Akko’s contact and closed her eyes.

She didn’t want to be swayed by Hannah’s words, but she wouldn’t deny she clearly felt some level of attraction towards Akko.

“Ok, let’s do this,” she spoke the words to trick herself into believing she had the confidence to do it and pressed the call button.

The city close to port was not as busy as Diana would have assumed. There was a fair amount of green life around them, and the buildings, most of them white, shone with the afternoon sun. Diana had foregone the normal tourist attractions, those of which she had no interest in, and had taken a taxi with Akko towards a less commercial area of town. She wanted to find a place that didn’t look too… mainstream.

Oh lord, Diana was a hipster.

“Seems like English is a common language here, which is good, because I’ve no idea of these languages. I should try to pick up some Afrikaans for future trips,” Akko commented.

“I swear I read once that the limit of how many languages one could know efficiently was six,” Diana commented.

“That sounds fair, but I don’t need to speak it fluently. Just enough to get around, you know?” Akko explained.

“Ah, makes sense,” Diana nodded. She’d been purposefully avoiding looking at Akko’s face, instead pretending to find the city interesting. Truth was, as they climbed the mountainside, the buildings became more interesting. They started looking a bit older and with more of a history around them. Building styles were still modern, but with the afternoon light and the view from the mountain top, it made everything look somewhat nostalgic.

Then Diana saw it. A small store with vegetables on the front, and if one looked inside, aisles of fresh looking vegetables that made her instantly tell the taxi guy to stop there.

They exited the car on a sloped street and Diana looked behind her, over the city. She could see the Luna Nova over in the harbors.

“Amazing view, huh?” Akko said, stepping next to her. Diana nodded, looking at Akko from the corner of her eye. She was really pretty, and when she smiled like she was doing right now it just made Diana’s stomach feel with butterflies. Wait, was Akko looking at her?

‘Let’s go buy some more ingredients’ was all Diana had said to her, ignoring Hannah’s advice to treat this as a date. Akko was still wearing her uniform, in fact, and that made Diana a bit insecure. Akko had made it clear that they were friends, Diana shouldn’t have used the excuse to get her as an ‘assistant’. What if Akko got the wrong idea?

“Indeed it is,” Diana nodded with a nervous smile. “Now,” she reached into her bag and brought out her recipe book, which she handed to Akko, “I’ve marked a few pages for you to read. Please tell me the ingredients we need.”

“Ay ay, Miss Cavendish,” Akko did that silly salute again as she opened the book.

Diana’s smile broadened, and she turned to enter the store.

“I can pay for the taxi, if you want,” Akko said as she and Diana stepped out of the car at the harbor.

Diana raised an eyebrow as she picked up her bags. “Akko, I’m a millionaire, remember?”

“Well, that doesn’t mean you have to pay for everything!”

While Diana was happy Akko saw things that way, she still paid without hesitation. Akko mumbled something behind her, but by the time she was done, the taxi sped away. Diana had purposefully given the guy a big tip, but she had the feeling the man had assumed the payment to be a mistake and had gone before she realized it. Well, whatever.

“You’re too kind,” Akko complained.

“You exaggerate. Now come on. Since I have you here, we might as well cook something, don’t you agree?”

Akko nodded. She actually carried her vegetables in a big bag she’d thrown over her shoulder, and it was far more than last time. Diana felt a little guilty over making Akko carry that, but she simply couldn’t.

They walked through the tourist-filled harbor and went back to the ship again. As they advanced, Akko kept waving and greeting people—that, of course, Diana didn’t know—with familiarity. Yet another difference between them. Akko could make friends far more easily than she could.

The trip to Diana’s room was a long one, but even then it felt too short when accompanied by Akko. Diana wanted to spend more time with her, to get to know her better. What schools had she gone to? Who were her best friends? Had she had any relationships?

Was she in a relationship?

She was a bit afraid of asking that one, but she had the feeling she’d have to do it eventually if she wanted to… To, well, get with her. The idea still made her feel a little strange. She’d never actually wanted to be with someone before. Well, save for that _one_ time, but she didn’t count it. She felt awfully underprepared for tackling such a thing.

But she knew, as she eyed Akko, she’d have to try.

They reached her room and went through the process of storing everything that fit into Diana’s small fridge, leaving things that didn’t really need cold outside. Diana watched Akko work with far more interest than she should have, instead of helping, and it was by that point that she had to close her eyes and tell herself to focus. Focus on something that wasn’t Akko, of course.

“Ok, we’re done here,” Akko said, pulling Diana away from her failed attempt at getting her mind under control. “So, what are we cooking today?”

Diana looked at Akko and tried to smile. “I don’t know, what do you want to eat? From the recipes we looked at today?”

Akko paused. “I don’t have any preference,” she shrugged. “All of them looked great. As long as it’s not just potatoes I’m fine with it.”

“Have anything against potatoes?” Diana asked, finding the statement curious.

“When I was going through training on the other cruiser I worked at, rats got into the ship. All our food was ruined while we were in the middle of the ocean. All our food save for potatoes. I spent a week eating nothing but mashed potatoes or fried potatoes or… just potatoes,” Akko shivered. “Since then, I have a bit of a distaste towards potato-based meals.”

“That sounds awful. Were you ok?” Diana asked.

“Why are you worrying?” Akko chuckled. “Of course I was fine. I’m here, aren’t I?”

Ah, of course. She was being silly. “Yeah, I just…” she felt her face grow hot. “Anyways, let’s get to it,” she changed topics and took her recipe book out, opening it on the page of one of the things they’d looked at today and allowing Akko to read what ingredients came with it.

She took the chance, as she prepared, to calm herself. It was so normal for her to shut down her emotions while at work that it was confusing to be feeling all of these things now. She didn’t want to scare Akko off, but she also couldn’t deny that at this rate she might just go mad.

When all the things they needed were prepared, Akko put the book aside and stepped around the counter, standing next to Diana, and took a knife to begin doing the things they’ve done a couple of times already, letting Akko do the simpler stuff while Diana focused on the complex.

Diana smiled as she got to it too. It was easier to not overthink things while doing something like this. To just enjoy things as they were, her chopping some onions and Akko peeling carrots and potatoes, the two of them working together to create something they’d both enjoy in a couple hours.

“Diana?” Akko asked.

“Yeah?”

“What’s so funny?”

Diana turned to look at her. “Eh?”

“Why the smile?” Akko pointed at her face with the knife. Diana looked at it with discomfort as the brunette realized her mistake and pointed it away.

“I…” Diana realized she _was_ smiling. “I’m just having fun,” she admitted.

Akko smiled back. “Guess that makes two of us,” she happily went back to peeling a carrot.

Diana wished she could get closer to Akko. The counter wasn’t that big, so it wouldn’t be too weird, but Diana didn’t want to distract Akko. She had said she was prominent to-

“Ouch!” Diana exclaimed. She looked at her finger as the small slit in it began coating itself in red, and soon a drop of blood fell down onto the counter.

Oh, the irony.

“Diana! You cut yourself?”

A hiss came to her mouth as the shock passed and the onion juice kicked in, making the cut sting ten times more than it normally would have. She quickly turned on the faucet and washed it, but damn it hurt.

“Are you ok?” Akko asked.

“Yeah,” Diana said through gritted teeth. “It’s just a cut. Go to the bathroom and grab a band-aid please. Behind the mirror.”

“Be right back,” Akko nodded. She ran off to the bathroom, and Diana sighed. She felt stupid. Worrying about Akko, cutting herself instead; she should have paid more attention to what she was doing. Akko came back with the band aid and Diana extended her hand. “No, no, let me do it,” she said. “It’s a pain in the ass putting these things yourself when you cut your fingers, right?”

“Akko, it’s just a cut, I can…” Diana trailed off as Akko got closer and simply took her hand out of the water, taking a piece of toilet paper and drying her finger with care. “I can do it myself…” Diana tried to finish, but her voice was weak and her face was hot.

Akko’s face was one of care as she gently put the band aid over Diana’s cut and around her finger, covering part of her nail. She nodded, satisfied at her work, but didn’t let go of Diana’s hand immediately. Instead, she looked up for a fraction of a second, and Diana swore her cheeks got red. “Here,” Akko raised Diana’s finger and kissed the band-aid. “So that it feels better.”

Diana felt like an explosion went off inside her, her body trembling and heating up. “T-thanks,” she said. Akko looked up, meeting her eyes, and Diana noticed she looked nervous too. That had been… Yeah, no, that hadn’t been a friend’s thing at all, had it? “Hey, Akko?”

“Hmm?” Akko didn’t even speak. Her ruby eyes were intense and it felt like they were peering into Diana’s soul.

“D-do you have a… partner or s-something?” Diana asked, stuttering.

Akko chuckled. She still didn’t let go of Diana’s hand. “Nah,” she shrugged. “I’ve had a couple crushes, but I’m too messy to get into a relationship with anyone.”

“Don’t say that!” Diana was so quick to reject Akko’s self-berating that she surprised even herself. “You’re a wonderful person,” the words came out of her mouth without passing through her brain. “Who wouldn’t want to be with you? They’d have to be crazy,” her hands also moved on its own, taking Akko’s and pulling her close.

Then silence fell on them like a hammer, as both women realized what Diana had just said. Their bodies close, their hands held, their eyes fixed on each other. God, Akko was beautiful, wasn’t she? Diana hadn’t paused to closely examine her features, but… Akko gave Diana a wan smile. “You’re… not just saying that, are you?”

Diana’s first instinct was to let go of Akko’s hands and step back. What if Akko didn’t want this? But she didn’t do it. It was a risk she was willing to take. “No. I m-mean it,” she said, voice somewhat shaky. “You’d really have to be crazy to not wanna be with you, Akko.”

“But we barely know each other,” Akko said.

“A wise friend of mine once told me—and by ‘once’ I mean earlier today—that you don’t have to _know_ someone to like them. And even then… I may not know your entire family history, but I know how you got your job and I know how fun you are to be with,” Diana pulled the hands even closer, pressing them to her chest, which was pounding like crazy. “So… Even if I don’t know every little detail, I…” she took a deep breath. “I like you…”

“What?” Diana’s voice had become so weak that Akko hadn’t heard.

“I…” the words died on Diana’s throat. Damn it, her mouth was dry. She was too nervous to speak. Come on, she had gone through things far harder than a stupid confession, she could do this. “I…”

“Ah, I think I get it,” Akko’s face shifted. Her smile grew, her eyes shined. “You don’t have to say it, if it’s hard,” she pulled her hands away from Diana, instead putting them behind her back and leaning forward. “You can show what you mean… some other way.”

_She wants me to kiss her?! No, I have to be misunderstand- Don’t be stupid! She obviously means a kiss! There’s no other possible interpretation for this!_ Diana’s brain went into overdrive at the idea, and she was frozen solid in place. Akko must have noticed her distress, for she cocked her head. “Uhm… Did I skip a couple of steps there?” she asked.

Diana didn’t answer, too focused on Akko’s lips. She wanted it, didn’t she? She wanted to kiss them. She wanted to… To…

She stopped thinking, instead just reaching out, cupping Akko’s face and pulling on her.

Diana’s lips touched Akko’s, whose face was a bit surprised at Diana’s move, and they didn’t move for a few seconds. Diana wondered if this was a kiss. She felt awfully awkward. She let go of Akko, who lost balance for a moment. “There,” Diana said. “I… I like you,” she was finally able to say the words. “So please don’t say stupid stuff like that anymore. Please.”

Akko smiled. “Well, I do have some fame for saying stupid stuff, but…” she stepped forward again, pecking Diana’s lips again. It was softer, this time. Gentler. “If someone as smart as you likes me, then maybe I can learn better.”

Diana sighed, smiling. “… I need to ask, was the kiss on the cheek a few days ago a clue or…?”

“Yes, it was. I thought you were really pretty since the moment we met. I was really nervous when I gave you that kiss, but I figured I’d do it and see what came of it,” Akko shrugged.

“Thanks lord,” Diana felt some relief. “I thought I’d misread that.”

“How do you misread a kiss like that?”

“Don’t friends do that all the time?”

“Context matters, Diana. That was a one hundred percent romantic context,” Akko gave her a flat look.

“I… guess you’re right,” Diana chuckled. “So… what now? Do we go out or…?”

“Well, for starters,” Akko pointed at the counter. “How about we finish cooking and figure the rest later?”

Diana’s smile widened. “Yeah. I like that idea.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And so it... ends?  
> What? So soon? But there's so much more to explore! So much to expand on!  
> Well, who knows? One day we may just get a chance to come back to this one. In the meantime, guess you'll have to use your imaginations.  
> Don't take it as an End. Try for a "May be continued".  
> In the meantime, thanks Araseses for giving me the chance to write this!

**Author's Note:**

> This was for Araseses!  
> If you enjoyed this, and would like to see _some more of it_ , consider _checking out_ my twitter or contacting me through Discord!  
> -Twitter: @BillErak (95% of this account is retweets of shitposting or gay stuff, check pinned tweet)  
> -Discord Tag: VathýSkotádi#1696  
> I'd really appreciate the _support!_


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